Canada’s Isabelle Weidemann won her second medal of the Beijing Olympics on Thursday after reaching the podium in the women’s 5,000-metre speed skating final.
Weidemann skated a time of 6:48.18 for silver, while Irene Schouten of the Netherlands skated 6:43.51 for a new Olympic record and the gold medal. Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic won bronze with a time of 6:50.09.
“It went by really fast. I was trying to control it, and think about my technique, but I lost track of the laps. I was trying to find a rhythm, but it was a fight,” said Weidemann after the race.
“I’m so excited. I’m overjoyed. Winning a medal earlier in the week I thought was the top of it, so this is also very exciting. I was hoping the 3,000 wasn’t a fluke.”
The 26-year-old Calgary resident was competing for her second medal of the 2022 Games at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing. She won the bronze medal in the women’s 3,000-metre speed skating race on Saturday.
That win gave Canada its first medal of the Beijing Games, and also marked the first for Canada in that event since the 2010 Games in Vancouver.
A two-time Olympian, Weidemann finished sixth in the 5,000-metre event at the 2018 Games in PyeongChang.
Weidemann’s second medal win is Canada’s 12th of the 2022 Games. She will chase a third medal Tuesday with teammates Ivanie Blondin and Valerie Maltais in the women’s team pursuit.
— with files from The Canadian Press.